March 3, 2015 Tuesday: Week 4, Divine Mercy Novena - Praying the Chaplet for the Sick and the Dying
March 3, 2015 Tuesday
Week 4: Divine Mercy Novena - Praying the Chaplet for the Sick and the Dying
Most of you have heard the term, ‘power of prayer.’ Have you experienced it for yourself personally in your life? The fact that I’m standing here in church preaching about the Divine Mercy of God as a Catholic priest after leading a rather godless life in my younger years is proof of the power of prayer. We all encounter though, situations where we feel powerless--particularly when someone finds out they have a serious illness or are in the process of dying. What can we do for them?
Jesus told St. Faustina, “Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties [that is, insistent prayers], obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least.” Our natural question is, “How or what should we pray for them?” Jesus told St. Faustina, "My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. ... Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior" (Diary, 1541). Earlier, our Lord said to her, "At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same" (Diary, 811).
St. Faustina said that by prayer, “God's mercy can touch the sinner even at the last moment, in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything is lost, but it is not so. The soul, illumined by a ray of God's powerful final grace, can turn to God even in the last moment, with such a power of love that in an instant, it receives from God, forgiveness of all sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things”. (Diary 1698)
To a person who does not know the power of prayer, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy seems like yet another devotional prayer. But the power behind the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is the power of Our Lord’s self-emptying love on the cross at Calvary. When a drop of blood from Our Lord’s side touched the Roman soldier who had pierced Jesus’ side with a lance, the soldier was instantaneously converted. Do you know of a sick or dying person for whom you can pray the Chaplet?
Fr. Paul Yi
Week 4: Divine Mercy Novena - Praying the Chaplet for the Sick and the Dying
Most of you have heard the term, ‘power of prayer.’ Have you experienced it for yourself personally in your life? The fact that I’m standing here in church preaching about the Divine Mercy of God as a Catholic priest after leading a rather godless life in my younger years is proof of the power of prayer. We all encounter though, situations where we feel powerless--particularly when someone finds out they have a serious illness or are in the process of dying. What can we do for them?
Jesus told St. Faustina, “Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties [that is, insistent prayers], obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least.” Our natural question is, “How or what should we pray for them?” Jesus told St. Faustina, "My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. ... Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior" (Diary, 1541). Earlier, our Lord said to her, "At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same" (Diary, 811).
St. Faustina said that by prayer, “God's mercy can touch the sinner even at the last moment, in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything is lost, but it is not so. The soul, illumined by a ray of God's powerful final grace, can turn to God even in the last moment, with such a power of love that in an instant, it receives from God, forgiveness of all sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things”. (Diary 1698)
To a person who does not know the power of prayer, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy seems like yet another devotional prayer. But the power behind the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is the power of Our Lord’s self-emptying love on the cross at Calvary. When a drop of blood from Our Lord’s side touched the Roman soldier who had pierced Jesus’ side with a lance, the soldier was instantaneously converted. Do you know of a sick or dying person for whom you can pray the Chaplet?
Fr. Paul Yi
